Abstract:

In this paper we propose that students be involved in active online learning, initially working with case-study in order to deep in the theme and secondly participating in the evaluation process, assessing the work of other classmates. If students are actively engaged in their learning they will improve their motivation on the subject. The strategy of online assessment in case study methodology has been developed in the subject named “Enterprise Computer Tools”.

The main methodology phases are:
1) Online explanation of the activity by the teacher,
2) Division of the class into groups of students,
3) Distribution of the questions among the groups,
4) Answer the questions,
5) Online evaluation and
6) Online discussion.

The results of its implementation have been satisfactory for both teachers and students.

At the moment, the focus is still on the assessment of learning and not much on assessment for learning (Fook and Sidhu, 2010). The assessment information is needed to take informed decisions regarding students’ learning abilities, their placement in appropriate levels and their achievement. According to Sadler (2005), assessment refers to the making of evaluation on students’ overall performance. Students in a dyad can play both roles and review each other’s work. Papadopulos et al. (2012) use the term “assigned-pair” to refer to where students in a dyad are assigned exclusively to each other.

Today, a common method advocated to improve student achievement is the use of formative assessments, both to improve the pedagogical practices of teachers and to provide specific instructional support for lower performing students (Dun and Mulvenon, 2009). Mueller (2005) observed that while researchers in higher education have proposed a series of changes such as alternative assessment to replace traditional assessment, these proposals have yet to be implemented in many institutions.

Here we propose that students be involved in both processes: firstly, working with case-study in order to deep in the theme and secondly participating in the evaluation process, assessing the work of other classmates.

The strategy of online assessment in case study methodology has been developed in a subject for students in the last year (5th year), named “Enterprise Computer Tools”. The study employed 27 students (22 males and 5 females). This subject covers topics as Enterprise Resource Planning, Business Process Management, Interoperability, Enterprise Application Integration and Supply Chain Management.

Keywords:

Online assessment, case study methodology, active learning.